NX has poise and polish but poor performance

The look of the Lexus NX300h, post-face-lift, is possibly even more outré than the original and probably even more divisive than before; but the performance of the car is very lacklustre, writes Declan Colley

Sat, 21 Apr, 2018 - 01:00

Stephen Bayley, the renowned automotive art and design guru, was once asked by a motoring magazine to sum up what he thought of the various efforts made in the design area by Toyota’s luxury arm, Lexus.

It is fair to say that the Briton, who is one of the most influential people in his field, was not very complimentary towards the Japanese brand, stating bluntly that: “In nearly 30 years Lexus has failed to develop a consistent or even persuasive design language.”

I mention Bayley and his design expertise in relation to the outré styling of the newly face-lifted Lexus NX300h, the car we test this week. The original car was pretty out there when it was launched in late 2014, but the design was very much of the Marmite variety: You either liked it or hated it.

His take on the NX was noteworthy from this point of view.

“At one point Lexus liberated itself from an early slavish adherence to doing cargo-cult S-Class Benzes, but this emancipation led to aesthetic chaos. What they do now is both good and original. The good bits are not original and the original bits are not good. It is a mash-up where the whole is less than the sum of its parts,” Bayley reasoned.

His further assertion that the NX “is strange without being interesting” is something which will obviously not go down too well back at Lexus HQ in Nagoya, especially as the company has made so much of its desire to make cars which can no longer be labelled ‘boring’.

The controversial spindle grille, which we have here in these pages likened to the look of the mouth of a basking shark at feeding time and which is now the frontal visual signature of almost the entire current Lexus range, is something Bayley is not particularly fond of.

The grille design, he maintains, is meant to make the car impressive.

“Instead it makes them look cross, which is no great evolutionary advantage for a sluggish car with modest overtaking ability.”

Hmm, that’s a bit damning, you’d have to say, but the man does have a point. The look of the NX, post-face-lift, is possibly even more outré than the original and probably even more divisive than before.

On top of that, the performance of the NX300h is not something any pure-bred petrolhead is going to admit to liking — ever.

But the Lexus name does mean something and that something entails a cockpit that truly makes you feel like you’re in a special place, what with swathes of hide and unfettered elegance. The corollary is that because it is so special, those that own one will feel very special too.

But the brand of the car does not hide several of the elephants which occupy the room. First up, there is the whole thing about the cleanliness of the hybrid powertrain.

Well, this car emits some 121 g/km of CO2, a figure which is well only 4 g/km better than a standard VW Tiguan two litre turbodiesel and 8 g/km better than a Mercedes GLC 220d 4Matic. That does not sound to me like it is the earth-saver it is purported to be.

Then there is the matter of the hybrid drivetrain which sees a petrol engine outputting 155 bhp with an electric engine which outputs some 143 bhp, making the combined power output some 197 bhp. That should make for something with impressive accelerative powers and demon overtaking capacity. It has neither.

The 0-100 kph capability is just 9.2 seconds and the top speed only 180 kph and I am afraid that if you are any way demanding with the loud pedal (as I am), you will get nowhere near the claimed 5.2 l/100 km (53.8 mpg); rather you will see a return (as I did) closer to 7.3 l/100 km (38.1 mpg). The 50 kg penalty caused by the addition of the batteries does indeed weigh heavily on the NX.

Having finally got used to the whole hybrid scheme of things as one unfortunately has to do these days, I have found that, from small car to big car, there is very little character difference between these things.

I did overhear a salesman telling a prospective customer recently that “yes, you do have to change your driving style” when you get into a hybrid. He was not lying.

If you drive as you would a petrol or a diesel and simply hit the loud pedal when you’re effecting an over-take, for example, you’ll be taken aback by the sudden and deafening whine which signifies that you’re solely on petrol power.

Indeed, despite all the batteries and brake regeneration technology and all the other tech Lexus has stuffed into the NX, you will only ever get a couple of hundred metres of purely silent electric power.

As well as that the CVT gearbox is not something which will appeal to anyone who likes crisp, sharp gear-changes, be they either of the manual or automatic variety. On top of that the system does not alleviate the shouty nature of the engine when you need it to provide the goods.

Those batteries also compromise boot space and thus practicality and the flat touchpad controller for the infotainment system (which is otherwise really good) is terrible to use and maddeningly, frustratingly so when you are actually driving and trying to change a radio station, or utilise the top-drawer navigation. Lexus really needs to re-think this arrangement.

It might appear that I am utilising a rather big stick with which to thrash — Basil Fawlty-like — this poor

machine, but I am afraid I am only pointing out the reality of driving the thing.

There are good sides and among them are the poise and balance of the chassis, the excellent handling and the magic carpet ride. The specification too — even at entry level — is terribly impressive and underlines the Lexus name as a purveyor of luxury motoring.

Thus there is a lot here which will appeal to people — especially those for whom the visuals of the car makes the earth move.

But the NX is another hybrid which really does nothing to broaden the appeal of this technology and in some quarters — mine especially — it dilutes the sheer pleasure that can be derived from the simple act of driving a car.

Bayley called this car a “cry for help”. He may not be wrong.